Evaluating the Use of MicroPython and the Raspberry Pi Pico in Laboratory Activities for Undergraduate Classes in Engineering Electromagnetics

Abstract Evaluating the Use of MicroPython and the Raspberry Pi Pico in Laboratory Activities for Undergraduate Classes in Engineering Electromagnetics Eve Klopf and Matthew Costantino Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, High Point University When creating laboratory activities to support upper-division undergraduate classes in engineering electromagnetics, a straightforward and conceptually useful activity is for undergraduate engineering students to analyze and build a basic electrical component and then learn how it can be used as part of a simple sensor. A variety of microcontrollers can be used to facilitate laboratory activities of this type; this paper examines the use of the Raspberry Pi Pico and MicroPython for these laboratory activities. The Raspberry Pi Pico is a relatively new board within the Raspberry Pi family; its price, measurement resolution and ability to run MicroPython and CircuitPython make it a very interesting option for use in an undergraduate engineering laboratory curriculum where a simple microcontroller is required. Presented are a comparison of several example laboratory activities where the activity is first structured to utilize Python, MicroPython and the Raspberry Pi Pico and then repeated with the more commonly used Arduino Uno, Arduino C and Matlab. Comparison details include an analysis of the differences and similarities in scaffolding the simulation, design and construction portions of the lab activities, including the set-up and functionality of the microcontrollers with regards to measurement of voltage, resistance, and capacitance within the lab activities. The use of MicroPython to support sensor activities in engineering electromagnetics allows for the use of Python as the main programming language for the overall set of laboratory activities. Given the increasing popularity of Python as a programming language in both engineering and the sciences, engineering students will benefit from increased familiarity with the Python programming language.